Air Canada's CEO is retiring following outrage over his English-language apology video for crash

Air Canada’s CEO announced he’ll retire after he received intense backlash for recording a condolence video in English — and not French — about the plane crash that killed two pilots last week at New York’s LaGuardia Airport.

CEO Michael Rousseau, 68, will depart the company by the end of the third quarter of 2026, Air Canada said in a statement Monday morning.

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"We are grateful for the determined leadership he has provided not only in steering our company through the 2007-2008 financial crisis, COVID and other challenges, but also in capturing opportunities such as the acquisition of Aeroplan, in restoring the solvency of our pension plans and in advancing customer centricity and employee well-being priorities,” the airline’s chair of the board of directors Vagn Sørensen said in a statement.

Rousseau’s long tenure ended on a low note after Air Canada Express Flight 8646 from Montreal collided with a firetruck on a LaGuardia runway. Both of the airplane’s pilots, Antoine Forest and Mackenzie Gunther, died from the collision. All the passengers and crew survived, but more than three dozen people were injured.

Rousseau’s video about the crash did little to help the situation. In his address, Rousseau only said “hello” and “thank you” in French — the primary language of Quebec and the home province of deceased pilot Antoine Forest. The rest of the short recording was in English with French subtitles. The proudly French-speaking Quebecois public was incensed by the video, and even Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney criticized Rousseau’s remarks.

“We proudly live in a bilingual country and companies like Air Canada particularly have a responsibility to always communicate in both official languages, regardless of the situation,” Carney said, according to Bloomberg.

Rousseau apologized for recording the message in English last week, saying in a statement: “I am deeply saddened that my inability to speak French has diverted attention from the profound grief of the families and the great resilience of Air Canada’s employees, who have demonstrated outstanding professionalism despite the events of the past few days."

“Despite many lessons over several years, unfortunately, I am still unable to express myself adequately in French. I sincerely apologize for this, but I am continuing my efforts to improve," he said, according to The Guardian.

But his apology didn’t calm the outrage. The Quebec legislature voted unanimously — 92 to 0 — to call for Rousseau’s resignation, citing a “lack of respect for the French language, Quebec families in mourning, and all francophones across the province."

In a statement announcing his retirement, Rousseau said, “It has been my great honour to work with the dedicated and talented people of Air Canada and to represent our outstanding organization, including as chair of the Star Alliance chief executive board and on the board of directors of the International Air Transport Association."

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